Looks like Utah is about to head to the Pac10. It's a sad day for MWC athletics. It makes me curious if they will invite a school like Houston or SMU now that there is a huge gap left by the departing Utes.

Looks like Utah is about to head to the Pac10. It's a sad day for MWC athletics. It makes me curious if they will invite a school like Houston or SMU now that there is a huge gap left by the departing Utes.

Houston is a good idea. I was starting to really get revved up about MWC before Utah bolted. If they want a BCS automatic qualifier they may need to think about changing the geographic footprint of the conference.

Craig Thompson says he's gotten phone calls from 8 to 10 teams with interest in MWC, but they are staying at 9. The fact is, there's no team out there the MWC could take that wouldn't drag down its avg BCS ranking, hurt AQ case.

Can't see them getting an auto-bid even if they added anyone that's left to add. At least not for a couple years.

I don't think they ever will be getting an Auto-bid. In my opinion, the BCS was anxious about making the MWC an AQ conference because it would now create 7 conferences which would alter what is "working" for the BCS. I doubt there will ever be a school which has the caliber of athletic programs like Utah that will be available to be added to the MWC. Their best chance is by adding universities like Houston, Fresno State, and maybe SMU, Tulsa, or Nevada.

Until Utah went to the Pac10, they were my lock for the Big 12s soon to be vacant Automatic Bid.

Why "soon to be vacant"?

The big blow of losing Nebraska is not in football, but in everthing else. Nebraska has an extremely well rounded sports program. Men's basketball is about the only thing they dont do well. The BCS is still under the NCAA thumb, so all that matters. However, such actions are rarely quick, as the MWC well knows. In football terms, the Big X still has the top two, and arguably three, football programs from before.

The question is whether they look to pick up a couple programs for next year. Protestations aside, TCU is glaringly obvious, and BYU would fit well in their North. Houston, Memphis and a few other schools will not less well received, since they have issues with recruiting violations, and tend to be one dimensional. Because of the need for a rounded program, I think BYU will be very tempting.

The reason why all of those teams left: Money. If The big 12 doesn't figure out how to generate revenue outside of Texas and Oklahoma (the universities, not the states), the next time they threaten to leave might as well close the conference. I don't know what the conference commissioner showed them or said to them, but whatever it was must have been a promise to generate more money coming into the conference.

If that doesn't happen, I could see this same problem down the road in 5 years.

edit: If schools come into the Big 12, I wouldn't be totally shocked but the conference hinges on two schools.

__________________
I was gone for 2 months doing things I can't talk about. It might happen again, but that's just the nature of what I do and who I am.

The Big Ten had their 12-18 month timetable for expansion, the Mountain West took 12-18 hours. I think with the addition of Fresno State and Nevada that BYU should see just how damn competitive the MWC can be now and that hopefully changes their stance on leaving.

Current MWC line-up if BYU stays:

Air Force
Boise State
BYU
Colorado State
Fresno State
Nevada
New Mexico
San Diego State
TCU
UNLV
Wyoming

The Big Ten had their 12-18 month timetable for expansion, the Mountain West took 12-18 hours. I think with the addition of Fresno State and Nevada that BYU should see just how damn competitive the MWC can be now and that hopefully changes their stance on leaving.

Current MWC line-up if BYU stays:

Air Force
Boise State
BYU
Colorado State
Fresno State
Nevada
San Diego State
TCU
UNLV
Wyoming

If BYU stays I think the MWC is very similar to the Big East. It would have looked really nice if Utah stayed.

The Big Ten had their 12-18 month timetable for expansion, the Mountain West took 12-18 hours. I think with the addition of Fresno State and Nevada that BYU should see just how damn competitive the MWC can be now and that hopefully changes their stance on leaving.

Current MWC line-up if BYU stays:

Air Force
Boise State
BYU
Colorado State
Fresno State
Nevada
San Diego State
TCU
UNLV
Wyoming

You're probably joking, but differences in time taken between the Big Ten and MWC aren't really comparable.

If BYU stays, I like the look of the MWC. If Utah would have stayed, they would have been golden, but they still are a strong, up and coming conference. We'll have to see how guys like Boise St., BYU, and Fresno deal with stiffer competition on a regular basis.